‘The Gray Man’ review: The Russo brothers continue to struggle to find their footing in a post-MCU world [C-]

Joe and Anthony Russo can’t figure out how to transition out of working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Saying that their first post-MCU film Cherry is a mess would be generous; the film currently holds a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. But a return to the action thriller content that they excelled at in their Marvel films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity War makes sense, so The Gray Man seemed like it might be the brothers’ ticket to success. Unfortunately, the movie is so preoccupied with being loud in every sense of the word that it forgets that an action movie still needs a compelling plot and characters – and for the action itself to be good. 

Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely adapt the 2009 novel The Gray Man in what looks like an attempt to start a new spy-thriller franchise. But this is no James Bond, or even Jason Bourne. Instead there is Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), who the audience first meets in 2003 when Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) goes to the penitentiary he’s being held in to offer him a deal. He gets to leave prison early, regardless of the murder he committed, but he has to work for the CIA as an assassin “indefinitely.” 

Court accepts and becomes known as Six, rising through the ranks of his program. 18 years later, he’s in Bangkok on a mission with Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) when his world is shaken once more. A dying target gives him a gold medallion containing an encrypted drive with agency secrets. He’s now the one being hunted by CIA desk-agent Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page, of Bridgerton fame), who will stop at nothing to get the drive. He’s even willing to hire the sociopathic assassin Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) as a last-ditch effort to outdo his greatest asset. The chase continues across several countries before the two come face-to-face in one last battle. 

With more skilled writers, this setup might have led to a good movie that delved into moral ambiguities and actually lived up to its name. However, the plot becomes overly convoluted with too many characters and not enough development for any of them. This “more is more” approach was applied to every aspect of the film, from its cacophonous score to its jumpy editing. Even the sound effects are overdone. 

The action is, at times, hard to keep up with and lacks the crispness that would make it more engaging. Furthermore, some of the action is hard to swallow coming from CIA agents. The Russo brothers applied their MCU approach without realizing that it doesn’t seem normal for people without superpowers to be flawlessly executing these moves. 

For Gosling, the role of Six feels like a return to the roles he used to play before he evolved to take on more interesting characters that suit him better. (There’s even a line about him being like a “Ken doll” in the film, a reference to his role in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie.) It’s really only due to his charisma that the character Six is engaging at all. The film tries to win the audience to his side by telling that the murder that landed him in prison might have been more complicated and by showing that he is unwilling to shoot a child, but it’s not enough to make the audience care what happens to him. 

Evans fares much better as the sociopathic Lloyd with his “trash stache” and tight polo shirts. Between his early career work and his recent role in Knives Out, it’s clear that he enjoys playing campy villains and Lloyd certainly gives him a solid opportunity. Evans gives it his all in easily the standout performance of the film, as he imbues the villain that we first encounter mid-torturing someone with a sass that makes him enjoyable to have onscreen. 

However, all of the other characters fall flat and the actors aren’t given much material to work with, despite their immense collective talent. Dani blindly follows Six for no apparent reason and de Armas feels like a prop for most of the film. Similarly neither Thornton as Fitzroy nor Julia Butters (in her first role since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as his daughter Claire have a lot to work with. Jessica Henwick, Alfre Woodard, and Page are also all equally wasted. 

While Netflix might be hoping to start a franchise with The Gray Man, they’d be better off sticking with their similarly algorithm-based Red Notice, which was at least entertaining. For a film with a $200 million budget, the most expensive one ever made by Netflix, it’s unlikely you’ll remember much of it within days of seeing it. The Gray Man doesn’t deliver on any real exploration of moral grayness, only loud noises and senseless action. 

Grade: C-

The Gray Man is currently in select theaters and will be on Netflix July 22.

Photo: Stanislav Honzik/Netflix